IMF mission set to visit Serbia

An IMF mission led by James Roaf will visit Serbia from June 22 through July 4 to conduct the seventh review under a stand-by arrangement, Tanjug reported.

IMF Resident Representative Sebastian Sosa made the announcement on Monday.

“The mission will have two principal tasks. First, to conduct surveillance of the Serbian economy under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. This surveillance is a central element of the IMF’s mandate for all its member countries and takes a comprehensive and longer-term view of macroeconomic developments and prospects, and the authorities’ economic policies,” the IMF said.

Serbia has yet to draw on the funds available under the three-year deal, which expires next year, and Belgrade said it has no plans to use them, Reuters reported on Monday.
The agency noted that in March, Roaf said Serbia was making excellent progress on economic and financial reforms, but was lagging on disposing of unprofitable state firms.

The IMF has forecast Serbia’s economy will grow 3 percent this year, below the central bank’s figure of 3.5 percent.